You loved them, yeah, yeah, yeah: The Beatles in America, 50 years later

Friday

Feb 7, 2014 at 12:22 PM

By Julie Sherwood jsherwood@messengerpostmedia.com

Do you recall when the the Beatles made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," America's must-see weekly variety show, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 1964? Even if you are too young to remember the band’s debut on American soil — part of the first salvo of what came to be dubbed the "British Invasion" of English bands hitting it big in the U.S. — you probably have a memory related to the musicians and the stir they created, called Beatlemania.

Beatle Ringo Starr — who will perform this summer with his All-Starr Band at Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center in Hopewell — recently told the Associated Press he didn’t realize the magnitude of what was about to happen when he played with his bandmates that night 50 years ago.

"Incredible!" he recalled. "It was 'Ed Sullivan,' it was a big show. We didn't know while we were playing that 70 million people were watching, but it was being in America that was so exciting.

“All the music we loved was in America, it came from America to England."

While holed up at their Manhattan hotel, The Beatles were interviewed by the city's leading deejays, which, all by itself, Starr recalled was an amazing experience.

"With Murray the K and Cousin Brucie, we were on the radio — we were in the hotel rooms on the phone to Murray the K. You didn't have anything like that in England. The whole experience was just incredible."

Such is the memory of a Beatle. Then there are memories of fans.

Gorham resident Jackie Wittschen was 14 when the Fab Four arrived in the scene in 1964 — "just the right time to be in a swoon," she said.

“I lived in a small town in central California at the time and my best friend has just moved to a suburb of Los Angeles, so there was no question of my missing their appearance in L.A.," Wittschen recalled. "My friend got us tickets, for about $3 each I think, and on Aug. 23, 1964, her stepdad dropped us off at the Hollywood Bowl in the midst of pandemonium. No matter that we were at the back of the amphitheater ... we were seeing our loves in the flesh and hearing them loud and clear! That was the first of many rock concerts I went to, but truly, it is still the most memorable. And, yes, we were the envy of all our friends!”

Robin Mallwitz, who owns Buffalo Bill's Family Restaurant And Tap Room in Shortsville with her husband, Bill, was 15 in 1964 and living in Las Vegas. She recalled that a girlfriend’s father worked with the press and she got Robin two free tickets to the Beatles concert at the convention center.

“My sister and I went. It was the most exciting thing I had ever done,” she said. “The place was crazy. Our seats were in the balcony and the band came out to pandemonium! They looked so small way down on the stage, and the sound quality wasn't nearly as good as it is now. I took home-movies, but they were blurry and you couldn't hear them. I will never forget how excited I was! I saved an article from the Las Vegas Review Journal the day after the concert. The columnist, Forrest Duke, wrote a recap and review. I still have it.”

Canandaigua resident Nancy Reed was a college student in 1965. “My dad was stationed in the south of France so I spent most of the summer visiting my family there,” she recalled.

“In July, I went to the armory in Nice to see The Beatles," Reed said. "After two hours of lead-in groups, the Beatles finally came on. The armory was pretty full as I remember, but very Spartan and simple — no flashing lights, just the talent. I remember the enthusiasm of the French young people. Two young men ‘streaked’ across the armory floor wearing only underwear and British flags.”

Bristol resident Mike Fogle was in the third grade in 1964. When the Beatles made their American debut on Sullivan's show, he was sick with the chicken pox, he recalled.

“But for one hour on a cold Sunday night I forgot all about being in any pain and watched as four young English musicians changed a nation’s attitude toward music forever," Fogle reminisced. "Even as young as I was I knew our time had come that night and rock music would evolve to amazing heights."

Richmond resident Steve Barnhoorn was even younger in 1964, about 2 years old when John, Paul, George and Ringo first played on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

“Knowing my parents, I have no doubt they probably tucked me into bed early that Sunday night,” he said.

Barnhoorn's first Beatles moment came about four years later, he said, when he was six and with a bunch of other kids watched their movies “Help!” and “Yellow Submarine.”

"All I could remember was I thought their mop-topped heads were cool — and the music was great!” recalled Barnhoorn.

Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash — Johnny Cash's daughter — was 8 years old in 1964. She lived in southern California with her mother, Vivian, who was separated from Johnny by then.

"I loved the Beatles so much it was physically painful," said Cash, who has recorded versions of the Beatles' songs "I'm Only Sleeping:" and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party."

"I knew they were going to be on 'Ed Sullivan' and I counted the minutes," Cash said. "When it was time, I sat in front of the television at least a half-hour before the show started because I was anxious that I might miss even a single second.

"When they were about to come on, my mother kept my sisters in the kitchen to keep them quiet, and I overheard her say, 'SHHH. Rosanne is watching the Beatles.' It was one of the greatest things my mom ever did for me."

— Includes reporting from the Associated Press

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Do you have a memory of the Beatles' arrival? Share with us on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/MessengerPostMedia, and see it in print on Sunday.

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